Posted in Romania by Stefan and Christina La Rosa on 7/28/2011
A year ago we were in the middle of training camp,
preparing ourselves for the upcoming trip. Now a year has passed and we
are already back home. Wow!
Our last ministry location was in Oradea, Romania. We
worked with an organization called Caminul Felix. Caminul Felix has two
villages where 16 families live. There are house parents who have
decided to become parents to 10-18 children. This ministry started
after the fall of the Caucesco regime. A couple from Sweden and the U.S.
had a heart for all the orphans and children who were raised up in
orphanages and children homes. They gathers a few of them and started
to take care of them. After a while, they started with the house parent
system, with a goal to give the children a normal childhood and to grow
and with a mummy and daddy. We were amazed at how friendly and warm
all of the people were around the villages. Our role was to build a
transition house for one of the families who only have a few teenagers
left in the home. The other children are married and live out on their
own. For more information about the project visit: www.caminulfelix.org
Looking back, it has been an interesting and challenging
year. We laughed, cried, lived life, hugged, slept in many different
beds, overcame many sicknesses, saw different places and... I guess the
list could be endless. Overall, we have grown and built friendships all
over the world. We met so many good people, for which we are very
grateful.
Be blessed wherever you are.
| |
|
Posted in Ukraine by Stefan and Christina La Rosa on 7/3/2011
Our last two weeks of the Ukraine were spent in a kids and youth
camp. The Baptist Church pays for most of the camp expenses because the children and
youth come from a poor background. We took care of 30 children in the first
week. Every day was packed with fun games, music and events. The Ukrainian
leadership team was made of a bunch of motivated adolescents, which could have
easily ran the camp without us. This enabled us to spend more time to be with
the children and invest in the leaders.
The second week we traveled to a beautiful place out in the wilderness
apart from any civilization. Surrounding us on all sides were majestic cliffs
and bluffs. Every morning we ate porridge.
At lunch and dinner we received a soup with a simple meal. The good thing is
that cookies came along with each mealJ.
Also, doing the dishes was easy because it was all disposable plates. It didn't
matter if we walk 20 minutes to the lake or hike a mountain two hours away, the
youth always wore flip-flops or nice/fancy shoes. We turned on a generator for two
hours each day, which became crowded from the young people to recharge their
cellphones, iPods, PSP and other gadgets. In the freezing river we could take a
bath. At night we sat around a bonfire, marvel at the amazing stars and chat
until late at night. Afterwards we lied down to sleep in the rustic wooden shacks.
The nights were cold, so we were able to use our sleeping bags that we brought
all along the whole trip.
| |
|
Posted in Ukraine by Stefan and Christina La Rosa on 6/18/2011
After the regained benefits and luxury from the western world, we have been hit hard again and recognized that we are not in the Europe we are used to and Ukraine is still a totaly diffrent culture. We only stayed one night at the ministry location for this month. After a returning fever, shivering, joint and stomach pain, Christina went to be checked out at the nearby hospital. We were guessing that it would be Malaria or a Parasite. Since the doctors don't usually deal with tropical deseases here, they were confused about the cause of her illness. Many blood tests followed and with all the IV's, Christinas fingers and arms became very bruised. Stefan needed to bring some of Christinas blood to a hospital that was two hour away. As soon as they found the Malaria bacteria in the laboratory, an ambulance was organized and Christina was taken to the main hospital in Cremia, on the evening of the second day. The following day was just as crazy; at least two dozen doctors checked on her and tested for all kinds of different things. They came to the conclusion that not only did she have malaria, but she needed surgery to remove the appendix as well. We decided to have the surgery immediately and around midnight, thankfully Christina woke up from the anesthesia after a successful surgery. She needed to continue to take a strong and gross malaria treatment on top of all of the other medication. Slowly she recovered from the surgery and the malaria treatment also worked successfully. Hopefully the virus is gone forever.
All in all, we stayed 12 days in the hospital. Only two doctors spoke english, which made communicating difficult. The hospital reminded us of times after the war; the tools they use are simple and the building itself ancient. The way that the nurses and doctors treated us was commanding, rude and harsh. At three o'clock in the afternoon the entrances were locked and visitors weren't allowed in any more. We were forced to spend the rest of the day in our room, despite the weather outside being very nice and it remaining light until 9 pm. The employees receive a tight salary (around $600 a month for a doctor), which was why we were asked to give "gifts". We are not used to this unofficial method of payment but they reassured us that this is the way it is done in Ukraine. The official bill was low, while the unofficial was ten times as much. This was separate from all the other gifts such as the Vodka for the head surgeon.
Overall, our hospital experience was unique, interesting, and terrifying. We felt more like prisoners than patients most of our stay. However, we are grateful that Christina survived and is on her way to recovery. In the end, because of the way we interacted with the staff, we received smiles from many of the doctors and nurses.
| |
|
Posted in Ukraine by Stefan and Christina La Rosa on 6/15/2011
 When we arrived in the Ukraine the culture shock hit us. We knew Europe would provide more comforts than all the other countries we have been to, still we were surprised. We noticed all the new and nice cars. The roads are smooth which allow cars to drive over 100km/h on the highway. Everything seems to be in order; everyone knows which side of the road to drive on and that it is better to not turn in the middle of the road. No animals or humans interrupt the traffic. There are traffic signs and the people actually follow them. There's no honking and everything is so quiet. The drive from the airport to the hostel was the quietest it has been in a long time!
 The people here are well dressed. Everyone is clean and is in summer style. We are embarrassed because we feel dirty and not dressed to the standard. Also we have needed to adjust to the cooler weather here. We are used to it being over 100 degrees and at this time in the Ukraine it reaches around 80 during the day and at night it cools down. The nice architecture of the buildings in the city stuck out to us. No one is pushing and starring at us. The transportation vehicles are not overloaded and no one passes by with ten chickens in one hand. In the shops are fix prices for the articles and everything is presented nicely. We don't have to bargain at a chaotic market to get a fair price. There is light when needed, from time to time we enjoy a warm shower with running water and also the internet connection works decent and is fast. As I mentioned before, everything seems to be in order. We are enjoying all of these comforts after living life on such a basic level for so long!
| |
|
Posted in Nepal by Stefan and Christina La Rosa on 5/25/2011
To start off, we had an adventurous 70 hours of traveling from Hyderabad, India to Kathmandu, Nepal. After the flight to New Delhi we spent the night on the airport floor because we needed to wait for all the other teams to arrive. The following two days and nights we were in uncomfortable seats on a bus, which lost its way. In the middle of the night we were in a accident; a truck ran into us. The back window was smashed and the luggage fell off. Thank God, no one was hurt and we arrived in Kathmandu safely. The next day our team traveled through the hills on a seven hour car ride to a village, where we spend most of the month.
 We never expected to experience such hot weater in Nepal. During the day the temperature reaches 107 degrees and the sweat is running down our entire body. Also, during the night it doesn't cool off. We only have a few hours of electricity and so we can barely use the fan. We try to cool ourselves down by taking cold showers but that's a challenge as well because there isn't that much water.
Across the road is a primary school, in which we teach and do some labor work. Twice a week we do vacation bible school with different village children and on Saturday's we minister in the small local church.
Nepal uses another calendar, so it is the year 2068. The year 2011 counts as the countries "tourist year" . The diversity of the nature is impressive and worthy to see. Overall, we didn't have many good experiences with the Nepali people. The many Hindu and Buddhist gods, gurus, and temples turn this country into a mystical place. The many tourists, which are mostly in Kathmandu, bring a western mindset that taints the tradition and culture of Nepal.
We look forward to starting our travel tomorrow to the Ukraine (Eastern Europe). The past few days, there were strikes all over Nepal because of coming elections. As a result, many roads are blocked and it's not possible to use them. There are police and military men everywhere, who try to keep the situation under control. As a result of roadblocks, we will leave tomorrow morning at 4:45 A.M. to go to the airport where we will have to spend the day and then catch the 5 P.M. flight. We fly to New Delhi, where we will spend another night "camping" at the terminal. After that, we go to Kiev via a layover in Moscow. Travel days are always tiring because we travel in a big group and have the cheapest and often not most comfortable way to travel.
| |
|
Posted in Nepal by Stefan and Christina La Rosa on 5/23/2011
| |
|
Posted in India by Stefan and Christina La Rosa on 4/21/2011
To be back in Ongole doesn't mean to be back to normal life. Even without the roosters cry, the music from the loudspeaker, the hot morning sun, the dogs barking or the children dancing around the tent we woke up automaticly at 5:30 a.m. We use this time now to write a blog to keep you guys updated.
In our memories will be:
 The kindness and generosity from the villagers
The greasy, spicy but tasty snacks
All the rice, curry and chapatti (indian bread)
The well we jumped in and took a bath, even if it was a pretty long walk to get there
The joy and excitment from the children who were 24/7 around us
People who are constantly staring and observing us everywhere and anytime
The indian head shaking still confuses us, because we don't know when it means "Yes" and when it means "No"
All the animals in and around the house
The scorching heat
 The nights under the clear sky with all the stars
The physical hard labor to build the church and all the blisters on our hands as a result
The confusion of the more than 30 Mil. Hindu gods
The daily stress of finding a good spot to do our "buisness" somewhere in the fields
That half of the team left the village earlier because of parasites and dehydration
| |
|
Posted in India by Stefan and Christina La Rosa on 4/12/2011
 Every morning we get awakened at 5am through the loud speaker from our neighbour. It's common in India that they play music early in the morning to worship their gods. Our tent is on a rooftop, which is exposed to the sun and all the people around. The village people have never seen a tent before, and are very interested to see and touch it. The village people sleep outside, where a breeze is, on simple beds or mats.
 As soon as we get out of the tent, we receive fresh buffalo milk. The neighbours love to give us traditionell food and drinks. News spreads very fast. For example: it took only a few seconds until the whole village with it's 250 citizens knew that two women from our team had to leave and go into a city because of dehydration and parasite. India is the hottest country that we have been to on the world race.
 In the mornings we do door to door ministry, visit the fields, and help out in the nearby tobacco factory. In the afternoon we have a siesta time, because it's just to hot to work. After the break children are waiting on us to participate on our program with singing and stories. Every night we have an open-air meeting. If we are lucky, we go to bed without indian music coming out of the speakers.
| |
|
Posted in India by Stefan and Christina La Rosa on 4/1/2011
 After a 48 hours trip we arrived in India. We stay south east in Ongole in the province Andhra Prahdesh. Tomorrow we will start our outreach in a village called Pulivaripalem outside of civilisation. Our goal is to plant a church from scratch. In the first phase we will do door to door evangelism and also some bigger events. In the second phase we want to baptise and disciple the new believers. At the end we want to build a simple church building. For Indians buildings are very important. House churches don't function in this culture because they want to have a temple or a church. We work for Indian Christian Ministries (ICM) and we are the fore-runners in the longterm partnership with AIM and world race.
This could be one of the most exciting ministries on the race. It will be challenging because it's the hottest country we have been to, and there is absolutely no luxury, barely water, no electricity, lots of mosquitos, and we finally get to use our tents.
The costs of building this church are $2'000 inclusive a PA-system and a table. If you are interested to help to make this project possible then click here. Thanks.
After 10 days we will have a break and we will keep you posted on our blog.
| |
|
Next 10 Articles >>
|
|
|
